Help with a travel itinerary to NZ
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@nonpartizan if you’re planning doing the Luge in Rotorua, make sure you hit the dip perfectly straight as you will get airborne…
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@nonpartizan said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
@canefan said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
@nonpartizan said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
Been in NZ for a few days now, having arrived Friday in Auckland and just today drove down Highway 1 to Roturua.....
Love it tbh...... To say its clean is an understatement, every part of NZ we have seen so far is spotless and immaculate, the drivers are all very courteous too even when I am driving a tad too cautious and slow no-one is giving me a hard time and have loved the green rolling hills of Waikato en route to Rotorua.
Welcome mate. I hope the trip is everything you hoped it would be
If you are still there and want a yummy dinner option, this place is great
El Mexicano Zapata Cantina https://share.google/ZVmonRAVC512wnxOL
It is, thanks, tbh it is surpassing all of our expectations which were relatively high to begin with. My sons words were "it is the best maintained place I've ever been".
I think we are around the corner from that restaurant, appreciate the tip.
It's family run, outside the main tourist part, the food is great and the staff were lovely last time I went (a couple of years ago)
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@canefan said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
@nonpartizan said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
@canefan said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
@nonpartizan said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
Been in NZ for a few days now, having arrived Friday in Auckland and just today drove down Highway 1 to Roturua.....
Love it tbh...... To say its clean is an understatement, every part of NZ we have seen so far is spotless and immaculate, the drivers are all very courteous too even when I am driving a tad too cautious and slow no-one is giving me a hard time and have loved the green rolling hills of Waikato en route to Rotorua.
Welcome mate. I hope the trip is everything you hoped it would be
If you are still there and want a yummy dinner option, this place is great
El Mexicano Zapata Cantina https://share.google/ZVmonRAVC512wnxOL
It is, thanks, tbh it is surpassing all of our expectations which were relatively high to begin with. My sons words were "it is the best maintained place I've ever been".
I think we are around the corner from that restaurant, appreciate the tip.
It's family run, outside the main tourist part, the food is great and the staff were lovely last time I went (a couple of years ago)
Canefan, I took you up on that - it was as good as you said. Thanks.
Was able to go to the national kiwi hatchery and saw two kiwi birds, one older who will not be able to survive in the wild and a younger one who is being raised to be released into the wild. Also, had the added bonus of seeing someone training a sheepdog - 3 sheep in a closed pen and the dog being trained on voice command to corral them.
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@voodoo said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
@nonpartizan if you’re planning doing the Luge in Rotorua, make sure you hit the dip perfectly straight as you will get airborne…
We rode the gondola but just because of time constraints did not do any rides...... Probably dodged a bullet there.
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Thanks for your assistance in planning an epic trip.
Some highlights were the drive from Taupo to Waitomo - beautiful countryside, stunning and capped off by coming into Te Kuiti. There was a Colin and Stan Meads exhibition in the tourist office (which we just stumbled upon) with lots of his memorabilia including his first All Blacks jersey. One of the locals took us down to where he farmed and it was a magical experience.
Then on our last day we had time to kill en route to Auckland so.stopped off in Pukekohe and Counties were training right next to the stadium. Watched that for half an hour or so and then asked for directions to Wellesley college - again, pretty magical to see where Jonah went to school and the fields he played on.
Overall, incredible trip, got to see Auckland, Rotorua , Taupo, Waitomo, Raglan, Hamilton, Tauranga and the Coromandel peninsula. Very beautiful country, pristine tbh and can't wait to visit again.
Thanks again.
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@nonpartizan Unfortunately TSF died on the day of the Hamilton test as I was going to post a couple of options to watch either a 1st XV game or club SF game before the AB test. Good to read you had a great time and I hope you got the obligatory photo with the Colin Meads statue in Te Kuiti, and enjoyed your rugby experience at FMG.
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@Bovidae said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
@nonpartizan Unfortunately TSF died on the day of the Hamilton test as I was going to post a couple of options to watch either a 1st XV game or club SF game before the AB test. Good to read you had a great time and I hope you got the obligatory photo with the Colin Meads statue in Te Kuiti, and enjoyed your rugby experience at FMG.
Thanks, yeah no worries, I could not access TSF and I was assuming that it was just problems being overseas on the internet with my cell phone. We ended up going to the Fraser Tech clubhouse to park but the game that was being played just finished as we pulled in.
Te Kuiti was such an unplanned bonus, nothing more than dumb luck - I knew that Colin Meads was from that neck of the woods (King country) but it wasn't till I saw the Waitete ground and the signs that I realized we had stumbled upon his hometown. The drive from Taupo to Te Kuiti was just so wonderful that this experience was the icing on the cake.
Driving in the countryside in New Zealand is so enjoyable. At some points in Waikato we did not see another car for miles upon miles and you are surrounded by this stunning greenery with just some sheep and cattle dotted on the landscape.
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@nonpartizan right! And yet last time I was home, every plonker was moaning about the state of the roads and traffic. I live in south London and the main way out is the M25 or country lanes...
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@nonpartizan said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
capped off by coming into Te Kuiti
Not a sentence I ever thought I'd read
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@Bones said in Help with a travel itinerary to NZ:
@nonpartizan right! And yet last time I was home, every plonker was moaning about the state of the roads and traffic. I live in south London and the main way out is the M25 or country lanes...
Yup, driving in NZ is awesome. Even if you screw up and make a wrong turn there is always a gap in traffic or a slow moving car coming the opposite direction to enable you to turn around or get across traffic.
